THALAMIFLOR^ 171 



capsule is ovoid, five-angled, erect. The seeds are 

 two or three in each cell, shining, black-ribbed 

 longitudinally. 



Wood Sorrel blooms between May and August. 

 It is a herbaceous perennial. Rarely six inches in 

 height, it is more often about three. 



Honey is secreted in five fleshy knobs at the base 

 of the petals. The flowers open between nine a.m. 

 and six p.m. The style varies in length, and the 

 plant is dimorphic. The stalk bends downwards 

 when the flower fades, and the head is concealed 

 amongst the leaves (as in Adoxa), When the seeds 

 are ripe it becomes erect again and the capsule may 

 be seen above the leaves. Experience differs as to 

 the degree of dichogamy. In some cases the flowers 

 are proterandrous, the anthers ripening first, in 

 others the anthers ripen with the stigma. The stalks 

 bend over in wet weather. The flowers are large in 

 the dimorphic flowers, and other smaller types are 

 cleistogamic when the flowers bury the seeds under- 

 ground. There are few insect visitors. 



The capsule opens by loculi, and is five-chambered. 

 The seeds are attached to a central pillar. Each 

 seed has a fleshy aril at the base. The cells of the 

 inner layers when ripe are very turgid, and the aril 

 turns inside out, so that the seed is shot to a distance. 

 The capsule is thin-walled opposite the middle of 

 each chamber. Each outer coat of four or five 

 layers of cells of the seed is transparent, with a 

 smooth, hard, black testa within. In the inner 



